By Sam Rigney and Dan Proudman

It reads like a confronting anti-ice advertisement. A man is taken to hospital suffering from the effects of illicit drugs, but out of nowhere he snaps, attacking staff and security guards.

As he struggles, it takes half a dozen people to pin him down and sedate him. But the drug isn't ice.

A Hunter man had to be pinned to the ground and sedated after he attacked staff at a hospital while under the influence of 'blue scissors'

It's a dangerous, synthetic, LSD-type substance referred to by police as 25I-NBOMe and known on the street as "blue scissors", the Newcastle Herald reports.

The drug - also commonly referred to as "tripstasy" because it has the effects of ecstasy and LSD - gets its name from the insignia stamped across the blue pill.

Advertisement

And it is believed to be similar to another psychedelic and potentially psychotic drug from the NBOMe series, 25c-NBOMe, also known as "Blue Batman", which was blamed for several deaths and dozens of hospitalisations before it surfaced in the Hunter 12 months ago.

Police say "blue scissors" arrived in the Hunter earlier this year.

The drug's potential effects were outlined in Newcastle Local Court on Monday when Beau Adam Powell, 26, of Wallsend, was sentenced for a random and frenzied attack on a hospital security guard.

Powell told police he couldn't remember anything after snorting half a pill of "blue scissors" in May this year.

He was taken to John Hunter Hospital and was being brought in on a stretcher when he suddenly leapt over the rail and sprinted towards a few security guards.

He swung a number of punches at one guard, hitting him in the head twice and had to be tackled to the ground.

Once on his stomach, doctors and hospital wardsmen piled on top of him in an attempt to grab his hands. As he tried to struggled free and spit at those on top of him he was sedated.

The Newcastle Herald reported on Saturday that a 22-year-old man with no criminal record was facing a maximum sentence of life behind bars after he was allegedly caught supplying more than 30 times the large commercial quantity of "blue scissors".

The man allegedly told police he thought the light blue tablets he was selling where "pingers", a street name for ecstasy or MDMA.

The commander of the state's drug squad, Detective Superintendent Tony Cooke, said "intelligent people" were taking their lives into their own hands by taking the drugs.

"The logo and the colour of the pill is not some type of trademark or a sign that quality assurance is guaranteed," Detective Superintendent Cooke said.

"These are being made by crooks who are in it for the dollar only, they have no care for the users.

"These are intelligent people taking these drugs, if they can't work out that these drugs are harmful to them then who can."

The head of Newcastle City drug unit, Detective Sergeant Scott Wheeler, said the blue scissors drug seemed to have appeared in the Hunter a few months ago.

"It is a simple message, people can never be confident of what they are taking," Detective Sergeant Wheeler said.

"These substances are being made by people who have no regard for the users."

With no memory of the assault, Powell had nothing to say on his behalf on Monday, telling Magistrate Les Brennan he was at the "mercy of the court".

Magistrate Brennan told the court he had recently read about the dangers of the psychotic drug.

"What if you'd killed one of these blokes?," Mr Brennan said.

"You would have no memory of it.

"You know better than I do about the ice epidemic in this state.

"This is not ice but it fits the same category. "The way you reacted, the way the hospital staff had to react, indicates you were pretty violent that day."

Powell was sentenced to an eight-month suspended jail term to be served by way of a good behaviour bond. Court documents state Powell and another man crushed up one of the blue pills and snorted half each at home about 11am on May 4 this year.

Both men had a bad reaction to the drug and decided to call an ambulance, court documents state. Paramedics spoke to Powell and the other man and decided to take them to hospital. But on the way Powell began acting aggressively.

Paramedics called ahead for security and Powell was placed on a stretcher when he arrived at John Hunter Hospital. Court documents state Powell began "tossing and turning and striking the bed with a closed first". He started to yell and swear and when the other man tried to calm him down he replied: "How the f - - - can I do that? F - - - you." Then Powell suddenly put one hand down on the stretcher and vaulted over the rail. He sprinted towards a few security guards with his hands raised near his head in a fist, court documents state.

He swung his right arm with a closed fist towards the victim, who managed to move his left arm and block the punch.

Powell then punched the victim twice in the face, one punch connecting with his temple and one with his cheek, court documents state.

Powell had to be pinned to the ground by security guards before several doctors and hospital wardsmen came to their assistance and tried to grab Powell's hands. Powell tried to spit at the wardsmen and staff had to place a mask over his face and sedate him.

When he was interviewed by police, Powell said he took the drug "Blue Scissors" and couldn't remember anything after that. Police said he was cooperative and genuinely remorseful about the entire incident.